The invention relates to an anti-buffet screen for a convertible.
Pending, commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/709,676, filed Sep. 9, 1996, and based on unpublished German patent application DE 195 34 584.3, neither of which are prior art to the present application, teaches a multipartite anti-buffet screen for a convertible, said screen being fastenable to a fixed roll bar.
A central part of the anti-buffet screen, formed by an upright pane, is held in place on the roll bar by at least one plug connection and/or a latch connection.
A goal of the invention is to improve on the mounting of a central part of the anti-buffet screen in such fashion that the central part can be inserted from a seated position in simple fashion, while preventing inadvertent release of the central part from the roll bar, especially when driving.
According to the invention, this goal is achieved by providing an arrangement wherein the anti-buffet screen is composed of a central part and two side parts, with the side parts being inserted into openings of the upwardly projecting bar sections and the central part being inserted into a central section of the roll bar that is delimited by the upwardly projecting bar sections and a tubular section running transversely, wherein the central part of the anti-buffet screen is formed by a transparent vertical pane and is held in position by at least one lower plug connection and upper latch connections spaced apart from one another in the operating position of said screen on the roll bar, and wherein the central part can be released from the roll bar only after pivoting spring-loaded latch levers of the latch connections into a release position.
Primary advantages achieved by the invention consist in the fact that simple insertion and locking of the central part of the anti-buffet screen is provided by a lower plug connection and two upper latch connections. The spring-loaded latching levers of the releasable latch connections ensure that the central part can be removed only after the latching levers have been swiveled free manually. The lower plug connections secure the central part to the roll bar in a preliminary fashion. A subsequent forward pivoting motion automatically latches the central part to the clip brackets. This provides a high degree of security against improper use. The spring elements provided in the receptacles for the pins keep the mount from rattling. The clip bracket and the parts of the latch connection provided on the frame form a complete unit in terms of styling.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.